FowlWeather Podcast

We welcome Ethan Dittmer to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Ethan Dittmer is a PhD student at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln working with Dr. Mark Vrtiska, Dr. Jay VonBank, and Tom Bidrowski on the Southeast Kansas Mallard GPS Project. This research focuses on the wintering ecology of mallards in the region, specifically their use of public lands, sanctuary areas, and various landcover types, as well as their broader movement patterns within and beyond Southeast Kansas. Ethan pursued a career in waterfowl research driven by his passion for duck hunting on public land and is committed to conducting applied research that supports contemporary waterfowl management and conservation.

Now is the time my friends to check in on your wetlands, growing season check-ins are critically important for intervention. Water conditions have been challenging for many this year with flooding of woods and croplands throughout the southeast and rains forcing late-drawdowns in the upper Midwest and into the northeastern US. Now more than ever is the time to take the time for a growing season check-in for problem plants and infrastructure issues. DrMike gives a priority checklist for your wetland and upcoming season, all this week on the FowlWeather Podcast.

The misinformation machine is at it again and blurting out words from the many corners of the coffee shop. Blurting out words without even trying. In this episode we detail how reward banding really works and how those data are used, the legals on flooded corn, and we once again revisit the idea of calendar vs. weather migrators. It’s all so easy, but y’all keep the conspiracy train running, making it all so much more difficult than it should be. A taste about how duck population models works and we also hit on the first hints of a La Nina, that and more, all today on the FowlWeather Podcast.

We welcome Dr. Matt Dyson to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Matt is currently a Research Scientist with the Institute of Waterfowl and Wetlands Research of Ducks Unlimited Canada where he evaluates the behavioural and demographic responses of waterfowl to landscape change to improve conservation delivery. Matt joined IWWR in 2021. Matt’s doctoral research investigated the nesting ecology of ducks in the boreal forest and his Masters work was on the nesting and brood ecology of wood ducks in southern Ontario. Matt’s current research continues to advance our understanding of ducks through the evaluation and testing of management assumptions for important breeding areas, including the prairies and boreal. Matt’s work is also focused on identifying research needs and designing studies to fill key knowledge gaps in our understanding of waterfowl ecology.

Adaptive Harvest Management or AHM for setting waterfowl harvest regulations was formalized in 1995. It not only provides an objective decision-making tool, but it also helps improve our understanding of drivers of duck populations by testing competing models through time. Listen in today as DrMike details how AHM changed the duckseason setting process, plus a prairie drought update, hurricane season, and more.

Dr. Jim Dubovsky joins the FowlWeather Podcast to detail changes in the federal frameworks through time. DrJim details the history and evolution of seasons setting frameworks.

We welcome Dr. Blake-Bradshaw (Abby) to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Abby is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Forbes Biological Station located in Havana, IL where she conducts applied research across a variety of topics to inform management decisions. Current projects include studying how waterfowl respond to spatial and temporal changes in hunting intensity and evaluating temporal patterns in calling behavior of the federally listed Eastern black rail to inform future monitoring efforts for this cryptic wetland species. Abbycompleted her PhD at Tennessee Tech in Dr. Brad Cohen’s lab where she studied the influence of sanctuary disturbance, weather, and landscape characteristics on waterfowl harvest opportunity in western Tennessee. Abby also has 17 scientific publications ranging from effects of extreme weather on duck migration, how game-farm genetics affects spring migration in mallards, and marshbird use of wetlands. When not conducting waterfowl and waterbird research, she enjoys spending times outdoors birding, hunting, and fishing, playing video games, watching horror movies, and caring for her numerous house plants.

We welcome Tim Maron to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Tim is a graduate of SUNY ESF where DrMike teaches and currently working with Winous Point Marsh Conservancy where he has assisted duck banding, duck blind brushing, various wetland and waterbird projects, and assisted as a punter during the hunting season. In the Fall, Tim will matriculate at The Ohio State University under the guidance of Dr. Bob Gates. A passionate waterfowler and all around outdoorsman, Tim is excited to work with ground and aerial waterfowl survey data to see how well it corresponds with eBird data throughout the Lake Erie marshes of Ohio.

Most folks know the Clint Eastwood movie, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Well this is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in population trends among species of waterfowl through time. Why do some species populations do well (The Good), why do some species cycle so strongly (The Bad), and why did some species populations tank and then never recover (The Ugly). First and foremost, we live on an amazing continent with a diversity of waterfowl species to pursue, harvest, and eat. From Canada to the US, and into Central America and beyond, our waterfowl are a conservation success story. We should be thankful for that. Period. But what makes some waterfowl species populations grow, others decline but rebound, and others tank. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. DrMike again digs deep into these data to talk waterfowl population trends through time.

We welcome Grant Rhodes to The FowlWeather Podcast Young Waterfowl Professional Series. Grant is in Dr. Kevin Ringelman's avian ecology lab at the University of California Davis working collaboratively with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation. His research is focused on using drone-based methods to better understand waterfowl brood abundance and duckling survival in relation to habitat characteristics and management actions in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region. Grant has extensive experience flying drones to survey waterfowl and waterbirds and is passionate about using drone-based methods to improve our survey designs and ultimately our conservation efforts.